Atlanta

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank says he has "complete confidence" that head coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff will turn the team around next season.

Blank said Monday in his first public comments since the Falcons ended a disappointing 4-12 season, he has "every reason to believe we will go from last place to first place in 2014."

The Falcons started the 2013 season as a top Super Bowl favorite.

Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that Blank on Monday expressed "a big disappointment" in the team's 2013 season. Blank, who is the co-founder of Atlanta-based The Home Depot, said Monday during a press conference that he has spent the last several months focusing his energies on the future.